Early Childhood Education and MLE- Webinar
It is in the first years of education that the foundation is laid. It is therefore important to make well informed decisions on what languages should be used in Anganwadis (early learning centres) and pre-primary schools. Good that the last LEAD-India Community of Practice gave that attention!
On 31st March, the LEAD India Community of Practice hosted an online session on Multilingual Education (MLE) and Early Childhood Education. The session brought together experienced experts: Dr. Shilaja Menon (Tata Trust), Sunisha Ahuja (LLF- Language Learning Foundation), and Dr. Marcy Voss (Seidlitz Education). The speakers shared important ideas about how young children learn best in a familiar language in their early years (primary and preprimary).
Dr. Shailaja Menon spoke about how people’s mindset has changed over time as earlier, bi-lingualism was seen as a problem while learning. Today, it is seen more as a strength as learning in multiple languages helps children think better and understand study material more deeply. She explained that MLE is not just about learning languages but also about protecting different languages as it gives children from marginalised communities a chance to participate more equally in education. A key point she raised was that although many children in India go to anganwadis (pre-primary centres) yet mother tongue-based education is often missing at this stage. She also pointed out a common issue as some programs try to quickly “bridge” children from their first language (L1) to a second language (L2). However, this approach can be problematic. Children may not have sufficient time to develop strong literacy skills in their first language, which serves as the foundation for learning a second language and other subjects. Therefore, first-language education should be sustained alongside the introduction of a second language."
Sunisha Ahuja explained how education policies in India have supported the use of the mother tongue for many years. Policies from 1982 and 1992 already recommended using the mother tongue as the medium of instruction. The Right to Education Act also talks about early education, but it does not strictly enforce it. Later frameworks like the National ECCE (Early Childhood Care and Education) Policy (2013) and the NCF (National Curriculum Framework) for foundational stages (ages 0–6) say that young children should learn in their home language. However, there is a gap between policy and practice. Most early childhood education happens in anganwadis, but: there is no clear system for implementation, anganwadi workers are often not included in curriculum design and there is a lack of teaching materials in children’s home languages. The National Education Policy 2020 strongly supports using the mother tongue up to even Grade 8, but this goal is hard to achieve without a strong push for the use of the mother tongue in the pre primary stage of the education.
The discussion highlighted a few important needs:
Starting mother tongue or home language education from the pre-primary stage itself.
Providing teaching materials in children’s home languages.
Training teachers and anganwadi workers properly.
Using simple teaching methods like stories, art, and play.
Giving clearer guidelines so states can implement policies better.
There was also a 3rd presenter: Dr. Marcy Voss from Seidlitz Education who spoke about identifying gifted learners in a multilingual education setting in the United States. However , due to lack of time during the panel discussion, the presentation was quite short. According to Dr Voss the situation in the United States is such that many times children with a different home language (e.g. Spanish) as the medium of instruction (English) often gets overlooked when it comes to teachers identifying children who are gifted in subjects taught in class. Therefore she called for a multilingual approach in assessment.
Overall what we heard from the panelists was helpful in understanding the MLE in early schooling scenario in India. While India has strong policies supporting mother tongue education in the early years, the real challenge is implementation. If children are given a strong foundation in their first language, they can learn better, and continue education more easily which gives them a better chance at life. Another question that we could ask is that are there also gifted learners being disadvantaged in Indian schools as well or are we at a too rudimentary level with regards to providing education to children in their home language, that such a question is premature?
Regards,
Karsten, in collaboration with Upasana Lepcha
PS - If anyone would like to be invited to LEAD Community of Practice on Multilingual Education, you can get in touch with upasana - upasana_lepcha@sil.org
Resources:
LEAD Community of Practice on Multilingual Education Webinar, 31st March, 2026